For some reading this, college may be long past. For others it may be recent history, while a handful of readers may be living through their college days. But let's be straight here: College was a darn good time. Despite the fact that I now live nearly 3,000 miles from my alma mater, I've still been known to sport the blue and red of the University of Pennsylvania, and I won't deny the occasionally reminiscing.

Today we focus on Tulane University, also known as "The Harvard of the South." Tulane was founded as a medical college back in 1834 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Its undergraduate school is known for, among other things, its architecture, Latin American studies, and economics programs. The university also has high-ranking law, business, and medical schools. In 2005, for only the second time in the school's history, Tulane had to shut down. This time it was for Hurricane Katrina -- the first time was for the Civil War.

Tulane has its share of famous grads, including James H. Clark (founder of Silicon Graphics, Netscape, and WebMD), Lauren Hutton, Newt Gingrich, Jerry Springer, Neil Bush, and Geoffrey Beene. But what Fools want to know is: Who's out there running companies that we can invest in? Using data from Capital IQ and cross-referencing with The Motley Fool's new investing community service, CAPS, I pulled up a list of some of the top-rated companies that have a Tulane University grad in a key executive or board position.

Company

Tulane Grad

LTM Stock Performance

CAPS Rating

Entertainment Properties Trust

David Brain, President and CEO

45.2%

*****

Bradley Pharmeceuticals (NYSE:BDY)

R. Brent Lenczycki, CFO

68.1%

****

Freeman-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE:FCX)

James Moffett, Chairman

(7.1%)

****

Harrah's Entertainment (NYSE:HET)

Charles Atwood, Vice Chairman

15.1%

****

TOM Online (NASDAQ:TOMO)

Peter Schloss, Chief Legal Officer and Executive Director

(32.4%)

****

Homex Development (NYSE:HXM)

David Sanchez-Tembleque, CEO

60.0%

****

Deerfield Triarc Capital (NYSE:DFR)

Robert Grien, President

41.5%

****


Then there's the rest
Above are only the stocks that CAPS players are smiling on right now, but there are plenty of other companies with Tulane grads steering the ship. Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) was co-founded by David Filo, who holds a Tulane B.S. in computer engineering. Though Filo is on leave pursuing his Ph.D., he is still, along with co-founder Jerry Yang, considered a "Chief Yahoo!" (whatever that means).

The $47 billion health-care insurer Wellpoint has Tulane MBA David Colby at its CFO post. Though Wellpoint is currently rated three stars in CAPS, its recent financial results suggest that things are going pretty well.

Two other stocks with Tulane grads that could merit some attention are Capital Lease Funding and Strategic Hotels. Both have too few votes to earn a CAPS rating, but each has 100% bull support so far.

Go ahead and click on over to CAPS and let the other 21,000 registered players know what you think about these stocks or any of the other 3,600 stocks on CAPS. CAPS is completely free and more fun than Mardi Gras. Ok, not that fun, but it's close!

More CAPS Madness:

Fool contributor Matt Koppenheffer encourages feedback and/or suggestions on which school to explore next. He does not own shares of any of the companies mentioned. Yahoo and TOM Online are Motley Fool Stock Advisor picks. You don't need any advanced degrees to know that the Fool's disclosure policy is as precious as a golden coconut.